Order of Nakhimov, 2nd class, #162, awarded on 23 August
1945 to Captain 3rd class Petr Vodeneev.
The name of the recipient has been determined using
published Soviet archival records ("Soviet Commanders
Orders" by Durov and Pavlikov, C. 2005.)

In silver and enamels; measures 56.9 mm in height, 56.6 mm
in width; weighs 43.3 g. Classic design of this decoration
is highly unusual for a Soviet award. Many consider it to be
one of the most beautiful - if not the most beautiful
- of all Soviet orders.

In very fine condition. The enamel has scratches (greatly
exaggerated in our enlarged photos), but no chips or
repairs. The enamel is not dulled by wear and retains
beautiful luster. The center medallion also has scratches
and a few minor dings, but is free of heavy wear; the
details of the bas-relief portrait are nicely preserved and
crisp. There is very attractive patina to silver on both
sides, noticeably darker on the reverse where it was less
exposed to air. The screw post is of full length, about 12.5
mm. Original silver screw plate is included. To reiterate,
this specimen looks magnificent in real life: our huge
photos don't do it justice, as they amplify all the
imperfections that are barely noticeable to the naked eye.

Petr Vodeneev was born in 1910 in a village of the Nizhniy
Novgorod (later Gorky) Region. In November 1931, he enlisted
in the Navy as a marine infantryman of the Baltic Fleet.
During the following year, he enrolled in a naval machinist
school and joined the Communist Party, the latter move
opening a path for career advancement as naval political
officer. In 1933-35, Vodeneev studied at the Higher
Political School at the Dzerzhinsky Academy and upon
graduating from it, started his service as submariner after
being appointed to the 1st Submarine Brigade of the Baltic
Fleet. In 1937 - 38, he served as Politruk (chief
political officer) of submarines S-3 and P-2,
and by January 1930, rose to command the Political
Department of the 4th Submarine Brigade, Baltic Fleet. After
briefly serving as a Politruk of the Training Department of
the Submarines of the Pacific Fleet in 1940 and receiving
further military training himself just before the Patriotic
War, Vodeneev was transferred to the Black Sea Fleet with
which he took part in the defense of Odessa since the first
days of the war.

In October 1941 Vodeneev became Politruk of the 1st
Submarine Brigade, Black Sea Fleet. In this capacity he took
part in two combat patrols aboard the submarine Shch-
213, an X-series sub of the Shchuka (Pike) Class.
During these sorties, the sub clashed with enemy combat
vessels and sunk two merchant ships. Although this is not
mentioned in the subsequent award recommendation, her first
victim was the Turkish schooner Çankaya which the
submarine sunk with gunfire on 23 February 1942 (Turkey was
not at war with the Soviet Union, but her merchant ships
were considered fair game in the effort to stop the flow of
supplies to the Axis.) On the following morning, Shch-
213 spotted an old Romanian merchant vessel
Struma off the Turkish coast near the Bosphorus
strait.
Unbeknownst to Vodeneev or the submarine's skipper Denezhko,
Struma was carrying nearly 800 Jewish refugees
attempting to reach Palestine, then under British mandate.
The sub attacked Struma as soon as it came into view
easily sinking it with a single torpedo. Tragically, all
but one refugee perished as the result of the attack,
placing it among the largest civilian maritime disasters of
WW2 - and later making the Struma affair a rallying
cry for the Zionists in confronting British authorities (the
latter were blamed for not allowing entry to the refugees
and thus forcing them to stay on a defenseless ship stranded
in war zone.)

Sinking two enemy vessels - albeit merchant ships -
especially on a single patrol was a very unusual feat for a
Soviet submarine crew in the early period of the Patriotic
War. For the lack of better options, Soviet subs were used
to run dangerous supply missions to the besieged Soviet
ports or to bring naval infantry ashore in near suicidal
assaults in Crimea. As the naval bases got overrun by the
Nazis and their allies, the Soviet subs had to do with
limited resources and often put out to sea in far less than
perfect condition. As a result, they suffered terrible
attrition at the hands of Luftwaffe and Kriegsmarine as well
as Romanian Navy, and their victories in the first year of
the war were few and far between. This was certainly true
for the relatively small and obsolete Shchuka class (the
subs of its X series were built in the mid-30s and had a
displacement of just over 700 tons with full load.)

Based on information found online and corroborated in the
book "Soviet Warships of the Second World War" by Jurg
Meister, the Shch-213 was sunk in October 1942 off
the coast near the city of Sochi. According to Meister it
fell prey to German aircraft, or it may have struck a mine
according to another source. Whichever was the case, none of
the submarine's crew survived. Luckily for him, Vodeneev was
not onboard during her final voyage.

According to the much belated award recommendation submitted
in 1945, Vodeneev distinguished himself throughout his
service with the 1st Submarine Brigade in the "most
difficult days of the Patriotic War". In 1942, he
participated with his brigade in the defense of Sevastopol
and Novorossiysk by "providing big assistance in delivering
supplies to the frontline personnel". As political officer,
he set an example of bravery to the sailors of the brigade
and instilled in them the spirit of "bravery and dedication
to the Motherland."

In August 1942, Vodeneev was appointed deputy political
commander to the Department of Harbor Vessels and later,
served in the same capacity with the Hydrographic Ships
Unit. In January 1944, Vodeneev was transferred to the
minesweeper units of the Black Sea and by August 1944 became
Commander of the Political Department of the newly created
3rd Minesweeper Brigade. During that time, he was awarded
with his first decoration, an Order of the Patriotic War,
1st cl. bestowed in December of that year based on his prior
combat service as a submariner.

Vodeneev showed the same dedication to duty as before at his
new position. He worked tirelessly training and organizing
the personnel and repeatedly demonstrated personal bravery
under enemy aerial attacks. He was constantly moving from
one boat to another, often spending from 2 weeks to 2 months
at sea sweeping the enemy minefields. In May 1945, Vodeneev
was recommended for an Order of the Red Banner by the
commander of the 3rd Minesweeper Brigade. The decoration
was downgraded to Order of the Patriotic War, 2nd cl.,
bestowed on 25 May.

During the same month, Vodeneev returned to his old
profession of a submariner, rejoining the 1st Submarine
Brigade (which by that time had earned an honorific title of
Sevastopolskaya and an Order of the Red Banner). His new
position was Deputy Commander of the Political Department -
which may seem as a demotion, but was more likely a result
of the temporary downsizing of the navy at the end of the
war. Almost immediately, he was once again recommended for
an Order of the Red Banner by his superior, Commander of the
Political Department of the Brigade, Capt. 3rd cl. Zamyatin.
The latter probably served in the same unit as Vodeneev in
the early days of the war, judging by the fact that the
recommendation was retroactive: it was based entirely on the
Vodeneev's achievements in 1941-42. It specifically
mentioned that Vodeneev went on two combat missions on the
Shch-213 and took part in sinking two enemy vessels.
The recommendation also highly praised Vodeneev's
performance in the defense of Odessa and Novorossiysk. On 3
August, the recommendation for a Red Banner was approved by
the Commander of the 1st Submarine Brigade Rear Admiral
Chursin. Someone up the chain of command however changed the
recommended award to Order of Nakhimov 2nd cl., which was
bestowed upon Vodeneev by a 22 August 1945 decree of the
Black Sea Fleet.

Vodeneev remained on active duty in the Soviet submarine
fleet after the end of WW2. From March 1946, he had the
position of Commander of the Political Department of the
Submarine Training Brigade, Northern Baltic Fleet (8th
Fleet.) In January 1947, he was recommended for an Order of
the Red Star based on 15 years of uninterrupted military
service; this petition approved and signed by Admiral
Tributs contained Vodeneev's full service record as of the
time of the recommendation.

It is worth mentioning that Order of Nakhimov 2nd cl. was
awarded only 471 times during its entire history, including
two issued to naval units and some that were bestowed but
never issued due to the death of the recipient. Out of those
actually issued, only 28 were awarded to submariners
- an incredibly small portion. A much larger number were
issued to naval aviators and officers of surface ships;
surprisingly perhaps, a large part of the overall total went
to the rear echelon, administrative and support personnel.
Additionally, there were a few naval officers awarded with
Nakhimov 2nd cl. who had had experience in the submarine
fleet prior to the Patriotic War. Careful study of published
and Internet records shows however that only 28 recipients
of Order of Nakhimov 2nd cl. actively participated in
submarine operations at any time during the war (and unlike
Vodeneev, not all of them received this decoration
specifically for "silent service" - some had been
transferred and earned it elsewhere.) In our estimate,
chances of another such award to a submariner appearing on
the market anytime soon are extremely small.

Research Materials: photocopy of the award
recommendation for the Orders of Nakhimov, 2nd cl.;
Patriotic War, 2nd cl., and Red Star (the latter includes
service record from 1931-1947); photocopy of the relevant
page of the award decree for the Order of the Patriotic War,
1st cl.